London Concours Celebration Of Speed Automotive Garden Party

The London Concours opened its doors yesterday as the elusive and prestige automotive garden party, held in the heart of the City, began showcasing the most incredible collection of vehicles ever gathered in the City.

Hosted at the Honourable Artillery Company, the five-acre oasis of green close to Bank was the perfect host for around 125 cars in a celebration of speed that offered everything from 1898 pioneers through to the very latest 2018 hypercars.

Era Defining

Perhaps best showcasing the evolution of speed in the automotive world was the London Concours’ ‘Era Defining’ class, comprised of notable and iconic speed machines throughout the ages. The earliest car on display was the 120-year-old Panhard et Levassor ‘Paris-to-Amsterdam’ car, designed to race over 950 miles in six stages well over a century ago. But guests could also find the Jaguar XK120 OTS and Mercedes 300SL Gullwing – both the fastest cars of their time – alongside models like the Porsche 911S and McLaren F1.

The main concours event was made up of six classes in total, including ‘Fast’, ‘Faster’, ‘Very Fast’, ‘Superfast’ and ‘Hyperfast’. Each of the classes was packed with rarities, from the Porsche 356 Speedster Super and Fiat 8V Ghia Supersonic to the Ferrari F50 and Aston Martin One-77, but there could only be one winner.

Fiat S76 ‘Beast of Turin’

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A team of expert judges, led by members of the London Concours Steering Committee awarded a class winner, and an overall winner following hours of careful scrutiny and debate.

Beast of Turin

The overall Best in Show title was awarded to the Fiat S76 ‘Beast of Turin’ – a gargantuan 28.5-litre land speed record car from 1911. Originally built as one of two, the ‘Beast of Turin’ is now the only remaining example, powered by the largest purpose-built car engine ever, producing around 300hp. In 1911, it achieved a two-way speed of 116mph, and was also clocked at 135mph on a later run but disqualified because it couldn’t complete the return leg. The car has recently been the subject of a ten-year restoration project, and was fired into life late in 2014 for the first time in a little over a century.

Outside of the main concours event, there were plenty of other astonishing cars on display. The Global Endurance Legends feature gathered a number of motorsport icons, including the Ferrari F40 LM and Lotus Esprit GT2. The evo Supercar Paddock brought together the latest modern hypercars, from the Mercedes-AMG GT R and all-new Ford GT to the Porsche 911 GT2 RS and Lamborghini Aventador S.

Andrew Evans, London Concours director, said:
“I’m in absolutely no doubt that this astounding selection of vehicles is the greatest collection ever seen in the City of London, and I’m so proud to be able to share it with the thousands of people that came through our gates today. I’d also like to extend thanks to all of our partners for making the London Concours such a success, and I look forward to seeing many more people at the show on Friday.”

As well as the automotive displays, visitors were able to browse a number of other attractions, including world-class watch boutiques from fine horologists Vacheron Constantin, Breguet and Glasshutte. Arthouse Collier Dobson, and automotive artist, Ella Freire, also had the latest displays of their work. In between ogling the incredible selection of cars, watches and art on display, guests were also able to enjoy a range of luxury food and drink offerings from the likes of Taittinger champagne and Remy Martin.